of Nevada lawyer Judy Cox has said, “Metro should get back to the business of enforcing local laws, focusing on serious crimes rather than someone’s possible federal civil violations, and reaching out to diverse groups to maintain a safe environment for the whole Las Vegas community.” Nye County also has an agreement with ICE. Trump beefed up use of the 287(g), but five of the Democratic presidential contenders have co-sponsored legislation to curb it. There’s relative unanimity among the Democratic candidates on Trump’s May 16 immigration plan being inadequate. The plan leaves the number of green cards issued at the same level, does not change the numbers of allowable overall immigration, and does not contain any provisions for how to deal with the already existing illegal immigrant population. It does seek to limit asylum, build a border wall, reduce the number of low wage laborers while allowing migrants for “critical” industries and limit the number of family members joining already immigrated residents. No surveys have shown where candidates currently stand in Nevada, though it is likely that Biden and Bernie Sanders’ high name recognition keeps them at or near the top in the state. In the other early caucus state, Iowa, Sanders and Biden are tied in the newest survey.
It’s not yet clear whether Trump will face Republican challengers, though former Ohio governor John Kasich has kept his campaign intact over the past three years and never really stopped running, and former Massachusetts governor William Weld is already running, with two-term Maryland governor Larry Hogan waiting in the wings. Asked if the party would be ready for competitive caucuses, Washoe County Republican chair Michael Kadenacy said, “We will be prepared once the rules are out.” When will that be? Kadenacy laughed and said, “You might want to ask the state party. They’re the ones who generate the rules, and we haven’t heard anything yet.” Both parties hold caucuses whether there is a contest or not. Caucuses are the way parties—both in presidential and midterm years—select delegates to county, state and (in presidential years) national conventions. But there is considerably more preparation required if there is a contest for president. Another complication is that the Nevada GOP has never been wild about early caucuses in Nevada, in part because they were so identified with Democrat Harry Reid, resulting in Republican leaders tending to de-emphasize them, and in one year holding them on a different date from the Democrats, which reduced the attention the state received. Ω
Economic populism vs. play-it-safe
Marked decline
A melancholy mark for journalists—the imprint of the pedestals for a newspaper rack that, until this month, stood next to a Plumb Lane restaurant and contained compartments for six newspapers. The rack has been unbolted and removed. PHOTO/DENNIS MYERS
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